Milestone for NJ-run retirement program
During first 5 months, assets have reach $1M
By: Daniel Munoz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey officials said Wednesday [12/04/2024] that a state-run retirement savings program has amassed $1 million in assets since its launch five months ago.
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The state's Secure Choice Savings Program crated IRA-type retirement funds for state residents employed at businesses with 25 or more workers that don't provide retirement plans.
..... Once fully operational, proponents say, the program will benefit more than 800,000 workers in New Jersey.
..... Many workers at small businesses don't have access to retirement savings accounts, said Todd Hassler, executive director of the program.
..... "It's often referred to as a retirement gap crisis," he has said.
..... The state missed the original state date for the program of March 28, 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause for the delay. Another March deadline cams and went in 2022.
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California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon and Washington have similar programs, on which New Jersey's was modeled, and New Y9ork enacted its own version in 2021, according to a database run by Georgetown university.
..... New Jersey businesses with at least 25 employees that have been in business for at least two years and don't offer a retirement plan now have to register in the program, known as ReturiementReadyNJ.
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Hassler said at a September [2024] program board meeting that 1,107 people across 473 employers are enrolled, with an additional 22,126 pending accounts.
..... A spokesperson for the state retirement program did not immediately answer questions on the most recent size of the program, any program size goals in terms of enrollment or savings or how the funds in the program are being used.
..... A smaller pilot program operated this spring [2024] and included five New Jersey businesses encompassing 250 workers.
..... Officials at the state Treasury Department, which oversees the program, said participation would cost nothing for employers. Companies that already offer a retirement plan, such as 401(k), can verify that with the state.
..... State officials are hosting a series of informational webinars through the end of January [2025] for business owners.
..... Under the Secure Chose Savings Program, the state sets up its own retirement fund and automatically enroll employees at businesses that are more than two years old, have at least 25 staff members and don't offer their own retirement benefits.
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Deductions would be set at 3% of employees pay. No contributions or employer matches would come from the company - a restriction put in place to keep the program in line with federal regulations.
..... Vestwell, the administrator for the retirement program, estimated that at least 800,000 New Jerseyans would have access to retirement thanks to the Secure Choice Savings Program.
..... One key task was getting as executive director for the program, Hassler was announced over a year ago after a nationwide search, the treasury Department said. he receives an annual salary of $220,000, public records show.
..... "Workers that otherwise did not have access to a retirement plan through their private employers will now have an opportunity to save, advancing our mission of making retirement accessible and supporting New Jerseyans through every stage of their careers," Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement this summer. [2024]
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; X @danielmunoz100 and Facebook.